This horrific story about five women killed in a limo fire does not address the obvious question: Why couldn’t they escape by opening the doors and getting out?
Are limo door locks electric-only, allowing a fire to make the locks non-functional?
I’ve never been in a limo so I don’t understand how this could happen.
“A limousine taking nine women to a night on the town to celebrate a newlywed bride erupted in flames, killing five of the passengers who were trapped inside as the other four escaped with burn and smoke inhalation injuries, authorities said Sunday.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/patrol-die-limousine-fire-calif-bridge-19111451
If the barrier that separates the rear passenger compartment from the driver’s comparment is up, then passengers cannot access the two doors in front.
The rear doors do not extend for the entire length of the elongated passenger compartment. You can see this in the photo at the link you provided: it’s a standard-sized rear passenger door.
If the fire is at the rear of the passenger compartment, then it may not be possible for any of the passengers to access the two rear doors.
If the fire is at the center of the passenger compartment, that might explain why some of the passengers (the ones sitting somewhere between the fire and the doors) were able to escape, while others (the ones forward of the fire) were trapped.
IANACFE (care fire expert), but it does seem a little strange. Car fires can be quite intense, but they usually don’t get that way in mere seconds. It would seem to have to go from smoking to so intense that it prevented the exit from the vehicle by able-bodied passengers (which literally takes seconds).
I am guessing certain elements may have been involved (pure speculation):
The time between the fire starting and the driver’s ability to get to the shoulder and stopped.
The passengers may have been inebriated.
Since the fire was in the rear, gasoline or diesel may have fueled the fire.
Many limos have sunroofs and all have side windows. Presumably these ladies were overcome by smoke fairly quickly. The doors worked, as some escaped that way. As Machine Elf said, the flames may have been aft of the those in the center jump seats and they were reluctant to cross the flames to get to the doors. The driver partition was open and at least one escaped that way, but perhaps the others were too fat to get through.
My guess is that something in the trunk caught fire; the equipment for the entertainment system perhaps. There is usually nothing between the trunk and the rear seat cushions. If the fire had been underneath the car I do not believe it would have trapped the occupants that quickly. The carpet and upholstery of all cars sold in American is fire-retardant and the floorpan would not have heated up that quickly while in motion to ignite the interior.
There’s a thread about this incident in MPSIMS. I asked there, but I’ll repeat my factual question here:
Do flame-retardant material standards apply to aftermarket modifications of a mass-produced vehicle, e.g. the conversion of a Lincoln Town Car into a stretch limousine?
Panic was doubtless a factor. There are multiple ways that the passengers could have escaped, but it can be hard to realize that in the heat of the moment.
Just like in a building. Get jammed up in the exit doorway, be overcome by smoke, that’s all she wrote. There are very few cubic feet of space in a car, so the oxygen is going to be displaced very quickly.
There seem to have been only three ways out of the back of the limo: Through one of the two passenger doors or over the partition separating the passenger compartment from the driver. The fire seems to have started in the trunk and spread into the passenger compartment through the rear seat. But, because both passenger doors were adjacent to the rear seat, that escape route was blocked by flames by the time the driver pulled over. With only one remaining way out, there wasn’t enough time for all 9 passengers to scramble over the partition before they were overcome by smoke and flames.
From the articles it sounds like it took the driver a minute or so from when the passengers first reported smoke until the car was stopped and people could start to get out. Even without smoke and an emergency situation is is a pain to get in and out of a sedan type stretch limo if you are seated away from the door. You cannot stand up so you have to scoot along the seat to get to the door.
It seems passers by helped three get out by a back door and one out through the partition. Also the fire spread more quickly than expected and the driver is an experienced big rig driver with a clean record. Just guessing but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was an amount of strong liquor in the back, and possibly some clothing that wasn’t fire resistant. They had already been out drinking and could all have had glasses filled with spirits, and I’ve seen stuff like silly string (from a can) go up in flames faster than you would expect, add lots of hair spray and panic.
…as the limo was nearly over the San Mateo Bridge, it burst into flames.
With the doors apparently locked, the clearest escape route was the small window to the driver’s compartment. Four of the nine women made it out.
[…]
The 38-year-old physical therapist said one of the survivors, 36-year-old Nelia Arrellano of Oakland, told him details of the tragedy - including that the rear doors of the four-door stretch limo were locked when the women tried to escape.
[…]
Maskarich said investigators do not know whether carrying one extra person contributed to the cause of the fire or made it more difficult for the women to escape. He said the CHP did not know why the blaze had started, or why the women who died were unable to get out the rear doors.
I don’t know the regs on this one, but I find it odd that any car door would not have mechanical handles that would open the door even if it was locked.
Some late-model cars have a child-safety feature which - when enabled - prevents the rear passenger doors from being opened by occupants; they must be opened by someone from the outside. It’s not clear whether a limo made from a 1999 sedan would have this feature or not.
With the driver’s key turned off, the power windows might have been disabled. Even if they were enabled, it’s difficult to force yourself to keep your arm in the fire (and hand on the switch) while the window lowers far enough for you to wiggle out.
After posting that occurred to me. Seems like a dumb solution considering this situation. However, I think the main problem was the passenger compartment filling with smoke and forcing the passengers up against the driver’s compartment. The smoke was probably from interior material burning. Flame retardant or not, when flaming gasoline penetrates the passenger compartment that stuff will burn with a thick choking smoke that would keep any panicing person from getting to the doors.
With the partition blocked by someone being stuck, opening the door might have allowed a big gust of oxygen in that engulfed them in flames making it impossible for anyone else to escape.
I don’t see information there about why they didn’t open the door earlier. Automatic locks, too much smoke, blocked by flame, poor access, it could be any or all of them combined.
I would never consent to own a car like this, and I wouldn’t even want to be a passenger in one. That just sounds like asking for a trip in a potential death-trap. Why does someone think this is a great idea?
Once, many years ago, in a fit of paranoia, I practiced climbing out of car windows just to see how awkward it is. Conclusion: It’s awkward. Starting from the driver’s seat, I clambered out the left front window, then also the right front window. Then I climbed over the front seat and out the back (this car was a hatch-back model). All awkward. I don’t even know if I could do it any more in my current physical shape.
Many vehicles have sensors that lock the doors when you reach a certain speed, but I believe you can then simply unlock the doors using the unlock mechanism. Isn’t that correct? My cars have never had that feature.